Financial stress drags employee engagement down

Companies can step in with judgment-free guidance over finances and financial wellness, PwC said.

By Lara Ewen • April 24, 2026

CFOs feel healthcare pain rising as GLP-1s stretch budgets, Mercer finds

Average healthcare costs for U.S. employers are expected to rise 6.7% this year, hitting a 15-year high.

By Alexei Alexis • April 23, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top trends in total rewards

Trends in total rewards strategies continue to shift in response to the market, employee demands and even advances in technology.

By HR Dive staff

5 minutes with Mindr’s CHRO

While others embraced office mandates, Iowa-based Mindr leaned into “remote first” flexible benefits to snag elite talent, CHRO Amanda Sedars said.

By Ryan Golden • April 22, 2026

California contractor ordered to pay $468K in wage theft case

A federal probe found missed payroll, unpaid overtime and retaliation, highlighting persistent labor violations in construction, according to an attorney.

By Keith Loria • April 21, 2026

Stakeholders urge Labor Department to finalize PBM transparency rule

Employers, lawmakers and more said regulators should hustle to get disclosure mandates for the controversial drug middlemen across the finish line, while PBMs slammed the rule as illegal, unnecessary and anticompetitive.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 20, 2026

Week in review: HR skills are in high demand

We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from the “death by a thousand pings” to the changing nature of pay conversations.

By Kathryn Moody • April 20, 2026

How HR leaders can lower healthcare costs through employee education and engagement

Learn why HR leaders are turning to engagement to control rising healthcare costs.

April 20, 2026

Are workers paid fairly? It may depend on who you ask.

Lack of structure around pay can make it difficult for employees to make sense of their compensation, Salary.com said.

By Kathryn Moody • April 17, 2026

More employers considering medical, pharmacy vendor switch amid rising healthcare costs, survey finds

Healthcare affordability continues to keep employers up at night. More businesses are shopping for new healthcare vendors as a result, according to the Purchaser Business Group on Health.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 16, 2026

Are rising costs hitting voluntary benefits?

For some workers, voluntary benefits can fill financial coverage gaps left by health insurance, a benefits expert said.

By Ginger Christ • April 16, 2026

IRS names professions qualifying for tax deductions on tipped wages

Just days before the Wednesday tax deadline, employers got more clarity on significant changes to payroll and W-2 reporting changes they are facing.

By Danielle McLean • April 16, 2026

Payscale CFO calls for ‘always on’ comp talks

Generation Z is one of the drivers behind the shift toward more transparent and frequent pay discussions, Payscale’s CFO said.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • April 15, 2026

Worker’s firing days before retirement didn’t violate ERISA, judge holds

An Ohio district court found that Western & Southern cited a legitimate basis for its decision to terminate the plaintiff, who spent 18 years with the company.

By Ryan Golden • April 15, 2026

Employee benefits regulator to focus on ‘bad actors’

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration said it will target enforcement on “the most egregious conduct and significant harm.”

By Ginger Christ • April 15, 2026

With health costs ballooning, workers turn to wellness and the internet, ADP finds

When workers delay care because of cost, it could hurt employers more in the long run, other research suggests.

By Emilie Shumway • Updated April 16, 2026

FedEx, pilots union reach tentative contract agreement

The deal, which would raise pilots’ hourly wages by nearly 40%, is the second tentative pact between the two parties during a multiyear negotiations process.

By Max Garland • April 13, 2026

Week in review: ‘Payroll leakage’ is prompting millions in losses

We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from massive U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prelitigation payments to improving performance development.

By Kathryn Moody • April 13, 2026

A smarter way for employers to offer GLP-1 access — with built-in cost control

Manage rising GLP-1 costs with WEX’s defined-contribution HRA — the smart way to offer employee access.

By Danielle Casey • April 13, 2026

BNY bank gives its employees homeownership help

The bank is offering $6,500 in down payment assistance to employees who make $100,000 or less a year. BNY in recent years has raised its minimum wage and offered company stock to its lowest-paid workers.

By Dan Ennis • April 9, 2026

HR teams cautiously experiment with using AI to help set workers’ pay

The technology can augment the work of human compensation professionals, but a range of legal and privacy concerns are slowing adoption, sources told HR Dive.

By Ryan Golden • April 9, 2026

Employers may lose up to 4% of labor spend to poor payroll management

While compensation often represents a significant portion of operating expenses, payroll is sometimes an afterthought, per a UKG and KPMG report.

By Lara Ewen • April 6, 2026

Starbucks adds performance bonuses for front-line workers

Baristas and shift supervisors at stores that hit key performance metrics could see $300 quarterly bonuses starting in July.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 3, 2026

More than half of adults say men have a better chance at securing competitive wages

Nearly a third of employed women say they’ve faced discrimination when trying to earn equal wages, per an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

By Ginger Christ • April 2, 2026

New graduates say they would sacrifice pay for job stability

Pay still matters, but people entering the workforce are increasingly looking for long-term security amid concerns about artificial intelligence and the economy, Monster found.

By Lara Ewen • April 2, 2026

More companies say equity benefits are being used to attract talent

Equity and employee stock purchase plans are especially part of the conversation for technical talent, reports showed.

By Caroline Colvin • April 1, 2026